Fed-up with the phony playback performances of stars like Justin Bieber, Beyonce and Madonna, the Cameroonian Richard Bona champions authentic music on his new album Bonafied, while working on future collections by Lauryn Hill and Stevie Wonder. He may be a wizard on the bass and have music running through his veins, but whatever you do, don’t ask him to change a light bulb.
Back in the nineties, Madagascar made a foray onto the world music scene with artists like Jaojoby, D’Gary, Tarika, Njava, Rajery and Régis Gizavo, yet contemporary Malagasy musicians haven’t taken up the torch.
The militant campaigner for union and peace in Mali, Cheick Tidiane Seck, is back with Guerrier, an album recorded by the pianist from start to finish and in which he takes a firm stand against one-way globalization. RFI Musique met up with the musician, who is currently organizing a series of conference-debates and concerts for his homeland.
Could anyone sing about peace better than the Malian Ballaké Sissoko? His crystalline, refreshing kora playing has just what it takes to bring hope to troubled times. With peace and dignity, Ballaké Sissoko tells his melodic story on At Peace, recorded with a helping hand from friends, including the cellist and producer Vincent Segal.
The altruist accordionist and champion of fair trade, Régis Gizavo, won RFI Découvertes back in 1990. With his new album, Ilakake, he proves he’s just as adept at opening Malagasy music up to other influences as he is at slotting into the worlds of the musicians he’s accompanied, like Christophe Maé or the late Mano Solo.
Cheb Aïssa, the Algerian singer, opens up new raï prospects with the album Baraka, joining forces with Chico, an emblematic figure of gipsy music from the era of the Gipsy Kings. A highly energised union.
Straddling pop, French easy listening and world music, Daby Touré’s songs are a soothing balm for the soul. Lang(u)age is an intimate musical rendition of personal memories and multiple identities.
The Malian twosome Amadou & Mariam are back with a new album, Folila. With its roots firmly planted in Mali, the collection takes added inspiration from some of the couple’s international alliances, and in particular Français Bertrand Cantat.
The “barefoot diva” died on Saturday 17 December at the age of 70. Cesaria Evora, the famous Cape Verdean singer, had been suffering from health problems that had obliged her to put a stop to her career three months ago. Her homeland archipelago and numerous fans are mourning a distinctive artist who introduced the morna, or “Cape Verdean blues” to the whole world.
The legendary saxophonist, composer and singer from Cameroon, Manu Dibango, has got together with the peerless English producer and hit-maker Wayne Beckford to create a timeless disk entitled Past-Present-Future
In the run-up to the fifty-year anniversary of Edith Piaf’s death, Patricia Kaas kicks off a long list of celebrations with Kaas chante Piaf, a tribute album recorded with the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Abel Korzeniowski, and devotes a whole stage show to the “Little Sparrow”.
